Tuesday: Afternoon Prayer

ABOUT TODAY

In the church calendar the long stretch of time between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent is known as ‘Ordinary Time.’ Inasmuch as we have celebrated to birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit; so this time is often seen as representative of the long ‘Church Age’ when the gospel is preached to all creation.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Reader:
God, come to my assistance.All:Lord, make haste to help me.

Reader:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. All:As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

AFTERNOON PSALM

Psalm 146

The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!While I live I will praise the Lord;I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Do not put your trust in princes,Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;In that very day his plans perish.

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,Whose hope is in the Lord his God,Who made heaven and earth,The sea, and all that is in them;Who keeps truth forever,Who executes justice for the oppressed,Who gives food to the hungry.The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;The Lord raises those who are bowed down;The Lord loves the righteous.The Lord watches over the strangers;He relieves the fatherless and widow;But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

The Lord shall reign forever—Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

All:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

WORSHIP (Optional)

All:
(A short time of worship and thanksgiving, led or spontaneous. Alternatively a devotional song may be played and listened to.)

OLD TESTAMENT READING

Nehemiah 4:1-14

Opposition to the Work

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Reader:The Word of the Lord.All: Thanks be to God.

Pause for Reflection……

PRAYER

(Take a moment to bring to God any issues that have arisen during the morning. You may like to end with the following prayer…)

Reader:Lord Jesus, you worked with your hands as a carpenter.
May we who labour upon the earth never cease to give you praise,
And know your loving presence with us.
We ask this for your glory. Amen

GRACE(Optional)

Lord God, we thank you for your gift to us of this food;
Produce of earth, sky, many living beings, and much hard work.

May we eat with prayerfulness, gratitude and moderation;
With renewed minds and spirit-controlled appetites.

May we eat with compassion for those who hunger today,
And in such a way that reduces the suffering of all creatures;
Healing and preserving our precious planet.

Use this food to strengthen our bodies, revive our spirits,
Nurture our family and nourish our resolve;
That we may continue to serve all that lives with all our life. Amen